Page 7 of Things Good Girls Don't Do

She turned off the clippers and cleaned him up, styling his hair into short spikes. He watched her in the mirror, her champagne-blond hair in a sassy knot on top of her head.

When she finished, she smiled too brightly and said, “All done. You can just pay Kitty up front.”

Chase pulled out his wallet and slipped her a ten, with his card underneath. “The offer still stands. Come by tonight and I’ll help you out,” he said, his voice lowered, “with anything you might want.”

Those full lips tightened and he saw her hand was shaking as she took his money and card. Tossing them into the top drawer of her station and snapping it closed, she said softly, “Thank you. I’ll see you back in a few weeks.”

“Or sooner,” he said confidently.

Her blue-eyed gaze was no longer friendly as he turned away, grinning his way up to perky Kitty. He was going to get to the real Katie Connors sooner or later. He had a feeling she was going to be a lot of fun.

Once she pulled that giant stick out of her ass.

KATIE FINISHED HERlast appointment and headed to the grocery store to do some shopping. She drove past The Local Bean and Chloe’s Book Nook, and looked to the left at Chase’s place, Jagged Rock Tattoo Parlor. She was still fuming about him coming into her salon and playing with her, even if hehadapologized. Telling her he could help her out with anything on her list. Of all the conceited, high-handed, jerky things to say. He obviously hadn’t been too sorry, since he made that outrageous proposition. And after she had just started to think he wasn’t that bad of a guy.

Who did he think he was, Iron Man? That he could just ooze charm and she would fawn all over him because he was handsome, successful, and single?

Like she would ever really do anything on that list, and for him to suggest it made her feel cheap. Like he had no respect for her, or maybe it was just women in general. Was he one of those guys who thought all women were easy prey, just waiting for some big, handsome guy to move in with a few suggestive ideas and they would just drop their panties and say, “Come on, big boy...”?

Without really thinking about what she was doing, she pulled around the corner and parked. She slammed her door and marched into the parlor just as he was coming out of the back with a sterile tray. His pleased, lazy smile only added fuel to the fire.

“Hey,” she said, “I don’t appreciate you coming into my salon and baiting me with things you really know nothing about.”

Setting his tray down slowly, he said, “Actually, I know quite a bit about tattoos, and let’s see ...” He pulled something from his pocket and unfolded it slowly. Recognizing the bar napkin, Katie lunged forward and tried to grab at it, but he held it out of reach, reading, “Sex shops, stealing—although I don’t recommend that—drinking, skinny-dipping, flirting, and oh yeah ... one-night stands.” He brought his arm down and she snatched the list from him. Before she could move away, he reached out and grabbed her wrist, running his thumb over her skin slowly.

Attempting to pull away from him, she cursed the tingles his warm hand caused. Glaring, she tried to sound firm. “Let go of me. I’m tired of your games. I don’t know why you think it’s funny to play with someone’s emotions, but I’ve never done anything to you and I find it humiliating that you would make fun of me over something I did when I was having a bad day. It makes you a bully, and I want you to leave me alone.”

Chase didn’t release her, just reached out with his other hand and started to pull her toward him. Her heart pounded as all that mouthwatering muscle drew closer to her and he slipped his arm around her waist.Shemight think Chase was lower than pond scum, but her hormones sure didn’t agree.

Katie stopped struggling and tilted her face up just as he said, “I can’t do that.”

Letting her wrist go, she froze as he trailed his hand up her arm slowly, making every single cell in her body scream to get closer, but a lifetime of good breeding and manners kept reciting,Good girls don’t ... good girls don’t ...

Still, the part of her that hadn’t been held by a man in a long time wanted him to kiss her until her brain shut up.

He didn’t kiss her like she wanted him to, though.

Chase ran one hand through her hair and cupped her cheek with the other. “Sweet Katie, the last thing on this earth I’d want to do is upset you, but I have to say, it is really hot to see you all riled up.” He slipped his thumb over her bottom lip and continued, “Your mouth purses when someone irritates you and you’re trying not to say anything. I’ve noticed you do that a lot. But your eyes heat up when you’re ticked off, and that’s hard to miss. Like now.”

Katie was holding her breath as she swayed toward him, and he whispered, “Do you know what you want?”

Did she? “Yes.” She drifted a little closer, like she couldn’t resist him. It was his eyes. No, the way he smiled. Maybe ...

“Do you know where you want it?”

His words were penetrating the fog of desire and she blinked at him. “What?”

Sliding his hand from her lip to over her shoulder, he asked, “Do you want it here?”

It finally registered what he was asking and she said, “I don’t want a tattoo.”

“Are you sure?” he said teasingly. “’Cause I have a binder full of things you might like. Of course, there are some things we could check off the list that don’t involve binders, needles, or tattoos. Let me think ...”

She needed to move away from him soshecould think. She took a breath, but that was a mistake. He smelled amazing, and she was so tired of being good all the time. She was thirty years old and the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with had picked someone else. Maybe if she had been more daring and less rigid, Jimmy wouldn’t have dumped her. She would never know now. She couldn’t change the past, but she could let go now, just this once.

Slipping her arms up around his neck and ignoring his wide-eyed expression, she said, “Chase, if you want to kiss me, will you just do it already?”

OF ALL THEthings she could have said to him, that wasn’t what he’d been expecting.

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